Paul Kicks Off Western Swing in Alaska

Rand Paul brought his message of less intrusive government to a “like-minded” crowd Tuesday in the first trip of a presidential candidate to Alaska this campaign.

“I think some of you tried to get away from Washington,” said Paul, decked out in blue jeans, cowboy boots and a blue-and-white checkered dress shirt. He praised Alaska’s “independent, libertarian spirit,” driven by “those who did want to get away from big government, those who thought, ‘You know what, there is a right to be left alone.'”

The Kentucky senator said he’s trying to capitalize on being first to the state before the Alaska Republican caucuses March 1.

“There’s a groundswell and a movement already here, so we want to get that organized,” he said. Paul is using the network that his father, Ron Paul, put in place four years ago for his presidential run. The elder Paul finished third in Alaska’s 2012 caucuses.

Shaun O’Brien, 40, of Wasilla came to learn more about Paul’s positions on foreign policy and military intervention, convinced that the U.S. has been “way too involved militarily and spreading ourselves thin.” An independent, he said Paul “doesn’t have to swing too hard” to win his vote.